Andrew E Slaughter

National Science Foundation Earth Sciences Postdoctoral Fellow

Welcome.

Andrew E Slaughter near the summit of Mt. Whitney I am currently a National Science Founcation Postdoctoral FellowCornell University and the Materials Process Design and Control Laboratory (MPDC). My work is focused on researching the application of finite element methods to model the micro-structure evolution of snow. The resulting model will assist in gaining further understanding the complex nature of snow metamorphism, which will aid in the prediction of weak-layer formation within the snowpack.

This page gives a brief overview of my research, teaching interests, and open-source code projects. For a more complete synaposis please refer to my Ciriculum Vitae or contact me at andrew.e.slaughter@gmail.com.

Education

Current Project:   project website

Currently at CU after I was awarded a Earth Science Postdoctoral Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The proposed work is to explore new methods for modeling the behavior of snow. The goal is to research the use of stochastic finite element methods to model the evolution of the snow micro-structure including phase change within the snow. A model of this type would improve the current understanding of snow metamorphism by providing a means to monitor the evolution of the ice matrix within the snow while accounting for uncertainties in the system.

Research Interests

My primary research interest is understanding and modeling snow, evidenced by my projects at both MSU and CU, especially as it relates to avalanches. Continuing this focus, I aim to develop a generalized, physics-based, multi-scale 3D model for snow—a model that may be customized to fit a variety of purposes from water resource engineering to hazard mitigation.

Teaching Interests

I am most interested in teaching courses in engineering and numerical methods, such as flow in porous media and continuum mechanics. I also would like to continue instructing fundamental engineering courses such as statics, mechanics, structural analysis, and finite element analysis. I am also interested in developing innovative curriculum, for example, a snow and ice mechanics course that covers topics such as the transversely isotropic properties of ice, thermal and micro-structural models of snow, and avalanche flow dynamics. I also would enjoy developing a graduate level course focusing on statistical applications in research.

Past Projects

Outreach: GK–12

A science curriculum centered on snow and avalanches was implemented in a 5th grade classroom at Ophir School in Big Sky, MT. The curriculum content was developed by a PhD student as a part of the Graduate Teaching Fellows in K–12 Education Program (GK–12) of the National Science Foundation. The purpose of the curriculum was foremost to provide inquiry-based scientific content that both stimulated and motivated the students. Throughout the academic year, lessons, exercises, and field trips were conducted with particular focus on the decision-making triangle of snow, weather, and terrain. Various resources were utilized including assistance from the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center and the Big Sky Ski Patrol. One of the most important aspects of the curriculum is that the 5th grade students were able to participate in the education processes themselves which culminated in their development of a professional-quality poster. The poster was constructed for use as an educational tool for other grade school students and was presented, by the students, at the 2008 International Snow Science Workshop. Overall, the curriculum succeeded in exciting the students about science, with particular emphasis on snow science.

Download the Snow Science Ciriculum

Open Source Software Developed

I have developed a number of programs that are available on my github site: github.com/aeslaughter. Below is a list and brief discussion explaining the work.

Contact

If you have any questions about my projects feel free to contact me at andrew.e.slaughter@gmail.com.